Prevalence of Underweight, Overweight and Obesity in School-Aged Children in the Urban Area of the Northwestern Part of Romania

Abstract

Introduction: During the last three decades, there has been an excess weight epidemic due to changes in nutrition and lifestyle. Few data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in Romania were published, without a single study representative at the national level. There are reports on the higher level of overweight and obesity in urban areas compared to rural ones. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity in children enrolled in schools from the urban area. Material and methods: For this cross-sectional study, children from 177 schools from the urban area of five counties from the northwestern part of Romania were included after the parents signed written informed consent. Anthropometric data were recorded (weight, height) based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and Body-Mass-Index (BMI), and the z-score for BMI were calculated. The nutritional status was estimated using three reference criteria: WHO, International Obesity Task Force (IOTC) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results: We analyzed data of 21,650 children (48.19% boys) age between 7 and 18 years. The prevalence of overweight was 13.8%, 16.2% and 20.3%, of obesity was 10.7%, 10.0% and 5.7% and of severe obesity was 5.1%, 1.2% and 1.6% (using WHO, CDC and IOTF cut-offs). Underweight was present in 5.2% (WHO), 6% (CDC) and 2.6% (IOTF). The highest prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was found in children aged 10 years, and the lowest in adolescents at 18 years. Boys have a higher prevalence of excess weight than girls. Using IOTF cut-offs, the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity was lower than using WHO criteria. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in children from the urban area of Western Romania was recorded at alarming levels, higher in boys and at the pre-puberty ages. There are significant differences based on the reference system used. It is important to correctly choose the reference for the definition of overweight and obesity to have the correct estimation of the target for public health measures.

Assessment of Actual Weight, Perceived Weight and Desired Weight of Romanian School Children-Opinions and Practices of Children and Their Parents

“…Our study showed that 31.6% of the participating children were overweight or obese. Another study performed in 2016 on a large representative sample from Northwestern Romania among 7–18 year old children showed a prevalence of overweight and obesity of about 30% [ 50 ]. In addition, a small percentage of children recruited in our study were underweight (7.4%).…”

“…A review of the studies published between 2006 and 2015 showed that 25% of youth aged 6–19 years old were overweight or obese [ 49 ]. A recent study showed that prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7–18 years old from the western part of the country was 30% and it was highest among pre-pubertal children and boys [ 50 ].…”

“…To our knowledge, few studies on the Romanian population assessed the association between children’s BMI and weight control behaviors. Additionally, prior research on Romanian children and parents’ perception regarding body weight is scarce and there is no previous evidence about the relationship between children’s weight status and vulnerability to bullying in Romania [ 27 , 50 ].…”

Obesity and Mitochondrial Function in Children: A case–control study

“…Obesity in children is a rapidly growing community health issue that has reached epidemic proportions around the world. From 1975 (4%) to 2016, the global prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents tripled (over 18%) [1], [2].…”

“…Body mass index (BMI) can be used to define obesity. "BMI = weight in kg/(height in meters) [2]." The criterion for obesity is BMI ≥95…”